Gov. Jerry Brown has made three key appointments that will bring new leadership at the top in the California Health and Human Services Agency and in the Office of the Governor.
Brown on Thursday named CHHS Secretary Diana Dooley to the position of executive secretary on his staff.
CHHS Undersecretary Michael Wilkening, who has held that role since 2008, was named to succeed Dooley as secretary.
And Michelle Baass, another longtime executive in state government, was named to succeed Wilkening as CHHS undersecretary.
Dooley, 67, served as CHHS chief since 2011. She was president and CEO of the California Children’s Hospital Association from 2006 to 2011, and general counsel and vice president of Valley Children’s Hospital from 2000 to 2006. Dooley had been a partner in a law firm, the research attorney for Tulare County Superior Court, and owner of a public relations/advertising agency. She had also served as legislative director and special assistant under Brown in his first terms as governor, from 1975 to 1983, and had been an analyst for the State Personnel Board from 1974 to 1975.
Dooley’s predecessor, Nancy McFadden, died in March at age 59.
Wilkening, 47, has been with the state for more than 20 years. He held several positions in the Department of Finance from 1995 through 2008, including program budget manager for what was the Health and Human Services Unit. He served in several positions at the California Department of Finance from 1995 to 2008, including program budget manager for the Health and Human Services Unit. Wilkening is executive sponsor of the California Health and Human Services Open Data Initiative and Agency Technology Governance Council.
Wilkening's appointment requires state Senate approval; Dooley’s does not. Both positions pay about $201,870 per year.
Baass, whose appointment last week by the governor also requires Senate approval, has been deputy secretary of the Office of Program and Fiscal Affairs since 2017; before that, she was deputy director of the California State Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review from 2016 to 2017, where she had been principal consultant from 2012 to 2016. She was deputy director at the California State Senate Office of Research from 2011 to 2012, where she was principal consultant from 2008 to 2011. Baass was a senior fiscal and policy analyst at the California Legislative Analyst’s Office from 2004 to 2008. She was a manager and consultant for Accenture from 1996 to 2004. The annual salary for her position is $176,040.
Brown Elevates 3, Bringing New Leadership to CHHS
